Comments on: Agave Nectar: Good or Bad?

By: JB

JB — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:58:44 +0000

I recently bought a bottle of Agave syrup (before reading this article). The label says “The agave sap is heated at a low temperature to produce a syrup with subtle molasses tones that is 25% sweeter than sugar.”
I’m just curious if this is false labeling or are there more ways of making agave syrup? To me the label puts this product in the same category as maple syrup. Can you clarify?
So does this mean fructose, no matter what the source, is bad for you? Is maple syrup not fructose as well, or honey?

By: JDintheOC

JDintheOC — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:05:21 +0000

I’d heard so much about Agave nectar, I decided to try some and boy did I get a wrong number. Almost immediately I got a splitting headache,started getting dizzy and felt as though my battery had been yanked out because I had no energy at all. I tossed the rest!

By: Andrew Sigal

Andrew Sigal — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:40:55 +0000

I have no position on Agave nectar one way or the other (I read this blog to try to help form an opinion.) I had hoped to find a definitive answer to the agave nectar good-or-bad question here. Unfortunately, while the author’s claims sound compelling, there are so many errors and myths included here that the conclusions cannot be believed. [Please, oh please, if you are going to attempt to debunk a product's merits, don’t use bunk in your argument.]

Here are some of the errors/misstatements:

* ‘When the sugar occurs in nature, it is often called “levulose” and is accompanied by naturally-occurring enzymes, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and fruit pectin.’ – No, “levulose” is the old word for the most common isomer of fructose. Furthermore, fructose is a monosaccharide (just like glucose and galactose.) If it is “bound up” with other things, natural or otherwise, that doesn’t change what it is – it is still fructose, whether it is in a pure crystalline form or mixed up with fiber, minerals, cupcakes or rat feces. Fructose is fructose is fructose. Put it into the digestive system of a mammal and it will get pulled apart from whatever it is mixed with – that is what digestive systems are for.

* “Concentrated fructose, on the other hand, is a man-made sugar created by the refining process” – this statement on its own is not valuable. Fructose is not a “man-made sugar.” Refining processes do produce products where fructose is present in much higher quantities that is normally found in the natural world, but the same is true of table sugar (sucrose.) One can make an identical statement for maple syrup – “Maple syrup is a man-made product created by the refining process.” Or vodka, which is a man-made product (alcohol) made by refining fermented starches.

* “Refined fructose is processed in the body through the liver, rather than digested in the intestine. Levulose is digested in the intestine.” – Once again, levulose is fructose. Moreover, fructose is a monosaccharide, so it doesn’t require digestion. Polysaccharides such as sucrose, lactose, maltose, etc., must be digested in order to break them down into monosaccharides that can then be absorbed. Fructose, glucose, and galactose are all absorbed directly into the bloodstream by the small intestine. All mono or polysaccharides continue on to the large intestine are consumed by intestinal flora which can result in gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc., as is the case in lactose intolerance or fructose malabsorption.

* “Because fructose is digested in your liver, it is immediately turned into triglycerides or stored body fat. Since it doesn’t get converted to blood glucose like other sugars, it doesn’t raise or crash your blood sugar levels.” – Once in the blood stream, ALL monosaccharides proceed to the liver. The only difference is that glucose can be directly metabolized by any cell in the body. It appears that glucose travels through the liver and continues on its way, while fructose and galactose stay in the liver for metabolization. It appears that excess fructose can cause a variety of problems in the liver, and IS a concern. (However, this article’s errors rather bury this nugget of truth.)

So, yes, Agave nectar has a high concentration of fructose and as such is probably as bad as any other concentrated source of fructose. But, on the other hand, honey is approx. 40% fructose and molasses is typically 20-25% fructose. So if you pit 2 tablespoons of honey or 3-4 tablespoons of molasses against one tablespoon of Agave nectar, then you have the same amount of fructose.

I would still like to know if Agave nectar is good or bad. It would be great to see a blog on the subject that did not rely on erroneous information to make its case.

By: SD

SD — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:54:09 +0000

Everything is unhealthy for you.

Eat whatever you want. Be happy. Die happy.

I’m not drinking dehydrated yak sweat to add a year or two to my already incredibly-extended lifespan, thanks to modern medicine.

By: Trella

Trella — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:22:55 +0000

I recently bought a two pack of agave nectar at Costco, trying to use less sugar, but now I think I will take it back. Maybe sugar isn’t so bad afterall! I wonder why it does not say on the label that it contains high fructose syrup? It is on most other labels. I am beginning to think that we really don’t know what is in what we are eating that we buy from the store. So discouraging!

By: Theresa

Theresa — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:17:00 +0000

Agave nectar is indeed low glycemic but the problem is the type of sugar not the glycemic index. Agave nectar is now shown to be 90% fructose (instead of the previously believed 74%). Unfortunately the higher in fructose something is the less your liver can process at once so it takes the “extra” and stores it as abdominal adipose tissue — tummy fat. This is one of the negative points against HFCS.

also, the way agave was originally harvested by the natives was to cut a hole in the branches and let it fill with nectar, they used it straight. Now it is heated and processed which destroys some of the nutritional benefits.

Sadly we do not use it anymore in our house. We are sticking to sucanat, cane juice crystals, maple syrup, honey and stevia.

By: Starr

Starr — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:44:36 +0000

I think you better do some RESEARCH on VACCINES and the injuries and deaths they cause…100% anti vaccine MAMA here and PROUD! better do your research people have been dying from vaccines since the production of them its insane how people can’t figure out given a list of ingredients on the GOvt WEBSITE that these “vaccines” are not safe and do not immunize them. They are a joke and a scam

By: Starr

Starr — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:39:03 +0000

Hi,

I really appreciate your research in this topic. I visit the natural news website in which THEY ACTUALLY PROMOTE this stuff go figure. But I HAVE trust in the FOOD RENEGADE!!! thanks so much

By: Gregory Mitchell

Gregory Mitchell — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:35:02 +0000

Study after study has revealed that unlike Glucose, which can be directly absorbed and utilized by Every Cell in your body, Fructose is metabolized in your liver ONLY. Animals fed a high Fructose diet long enough ALWAYS develop the Same Pathologies as Human Alcoholics, viz. Fatty Degeneration and Cirrhosis [Scarring] of the Liver. When the attractive people on the corn industry TV ads turn for their close-ups and say that “your body doesn’t know the difference, sugar is just sugar”, it makes me want scream.
If Big Agro-Bucks want to over-produce corn for Gasohol, well, OK, fine. Do they have to poison our children with Fructose too?

By: Jonathan Spector

Jonathan Spector — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:22:53 +0000

I have an Israeli agave in my back yard. I saw the Mexican made syrup for the first time today and came home to check it out. So not only do I avoid it in the future, but I can also forget about commercial uses for my plant.